Golf practice device and game



Aprll 26, 1927. W M CHASE 1 GOLF PRACTICE DEVICE AND GAME Filed May 19. 1926 Wferfl 2156.

Patented Apr. 25, 1927.

UNITED STATES .WALTER M. CHASE, 015 LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA.

eoLr PRACTICE nnvrcn Am) GAME.

Application filed ma 15,

My invention is a. golf practice device and game, for practicing golf strokes and maintaining a score.

An object of my invention is a practice device against which go'lf balls may be struck, the said device causing a registering, indicating approximately the distance of travel of the ball and having a series of cards, strips or the like for indicatlng the yardage from the different tees to the d1fferent holes of the golf course so that a score can be kept of the game.

A further object of my invention is to have a series of strips or cards, there being one for each fairway of the course, so that a full course either ofnine or eighteen holes may be played, the players keeping track of the strokes required.

In constructing my invention I utlhze a swinging curtain mounted on a frame, th s curtain being suitably suspended so that when struck by a golf ball the curtain swings backwardl and in so doing actuatesa train of gears w..ich shifts a device having one of the strips indicating the fairway of a golf course. These strips are replaceable so that after the players have holed out they may start onthe subsequent fairways of the course. I

4 My invention will be more readily understood from 'the following description and drawings, in which; 4

Figure l is a perspective view of my practice device installed in a suitable room 1ndicating part of the floor to be utilized as a Fig: 2 is a front elevation of the device partly broken away, showing the green;

Fi 3'is a vertical transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a face view of one of the strips showing one type of marking which may be utilized in the game.

In Fig. 1, the walls of a room are indicated by the numerals 1, 2 and 3, these walls preferably bein suitably padded to catch missed strokes at t e ball. A stand designated generally by the numeral 3 has a standard 4 with registering mechanism thereon, a simple supporting standard 5 and a cross 1926. Serial No. 110,124.

shaft 6 between said standards. A curtain 7 is mounted on a suitable frame connected to the shaft 6 so that when the curtain is struck by a golf ball which the player has hit, the curtain will swing backwardly. A stop 8 is utilized toprevent the forward swing of the curtain.

The registering mechanism is substantially as follows: a

A ratchet gear 9 is loosely mounted on the shaft 6 within the gear box 10 at the top of the standard 4 and an arm 11 extending upwardly from the shaft has a spring pressed pawl 12 to engage the teeth of the ratchet gear and to partly rotate said gear on each backward swing of the curtain 7. On the forward swin of the curtain the pawl slides over the rate et teeth. A driving gear 13 is rigidly connected to the ratchet gear 9 and drives a pinion 14 mounted on a suitable transverse shaft. This pinion meshes with a rack 15, the rack being slidable in the standard 4 and havin an exposed face on which a strip or car 16 may be secured by thumb screws 17 or the like. The crank 18 is attached to the gears so that these may be turned backwardly to move the rack 15 from its upper to its lower position in order to start a new game.

In starting a placed on a tee an struck by the player and the ball striking the curtain will swing this a greater or lesser extent backwardly in accordance with the force of the blow. -The strips or the like are preferably marked with a device indicating a tee, this forming a zero indicated as the green and wouldendeavor to put same into a suitable hole. The player would keep score of strokes required from the tee until the ball is holed. If playing in competition the next pla er would follow the same procedure, and t e players could thereby compare their playing ability.

It will be noted that with my device the gearing may be such as to closely simulate the distance which a bail would actually The player wouldame the ball wand be is also informed as to how far short or over.

travel on a golf course. This would be ascertained experimentally by the manufacturer and the gearing such that with certain backward swings of the curtain a certaiii yardage would be recorded.

It is thus manifest that as the distance between holes of different golf courses varies in length, that the strips with the yardage marked thereon would be of different lengths. It is hence necessary to have the rack of such length as to accommodate the longest fairway which is apt to be found in actual golf courses.

It is thus apparent that my practice device and game is suitable for country clubs, golf clubs and the like and that each club mayhave a set of strips made which correspond to their different fairways. The player can thus estimate the number of strokes it takes to complete the whole course.

It will be noted that my registering device operates in'an additive manner, that is, when one golf ball strikes the panel-like curtain the 'stri is moved upwardly, registering the num er of yards the ball would have. travelled and stays in such position. The second strike of the ball also adds a successive distance to the register,v.and so on until the whole fairway of a golf course has been covered. The player incidentally the hole his laststroke goes. v

Itis manifest that the general construction and specific details'of my devicemay be considerably changed to adaptsame to difl'erentinstallations and manner of using. Such changes however, would be within the spirit of my invention as set forth in the description,'drawings and claims.

,As indicated in Fig; 5, the strip 16 is provided with certain indicia, indicating features of,a olf course, for instance, the word tee designated by the numeral 20 indicated the tee or the zero marking. The numerals21 indicate distance preferably in yardage. The green is designated by the word g'reen or by other suitable indicating as by painting the strip a green color as indicated by the numeral 23 and if desired a hole 24' maybe indicated bya round circle on the green.

Having described my invention, what I claim is: r 1. .A golf practice device comprising in combination a movable curtain mounted to be shifted when struck by a golf ball, and means actuated by the curtain to give an in-, dication of some effect of the ball, said means being vertically movable to additively indicate such effects.

2. A golf practice device comprising in combination a movable curtain mounted to be shifted when struck by a olf ball, and means actuated by the curtain to indicate the distance a golf ball would travel if not tering device disconnected from a ball to indicate distances of a golf course, said reglstermg device having a vertical movement and additively indicating the distance of successive balls on a golf course.

5. A golf exercising device comprising a vertical pivoted panel-like curtain, a registering device having a movable strip operated thereby, said strip indicating the dis tance of the golf course.

6. A golf exerciser comprising in combination a pivotally mounted panel-likecurtain, a registering device operated thereby, said registering device havin replaceable strips, said strips indicating different parts of a golf cours 7. A golf exercising device comprising in combination a pivotally mounted anel-like curtain, a slidable strip operate by the movementof the curtain to slide same longitudinally, thestrip having means to indicate distances in a prescribed part of a golf course; V

8. A golf exerciser comprising in combination a pivotally mounted panel-like curtain, a slidable rack, a system of gearing operatively connected between thepanel and the" rack, to move the rack longitudinally on the swinging movement of the curtain, and an indicating strip operatively connected to the rack, said strip indicating features of a golf course,

9. A golf exerciser comprising in combination a suitable stand having a transverse shaft, a panel-like curtain suspended therefrom, a slidable rack mounted in the stand,

a system of gearing operatively connected between the shaft and the rack, to slide-the rack on the partial rotary movement of the shaft, and an indicating strip attached to the rack, said strip indicating different features of a golf course,

10. A golf practice device comprising a. stand having a pair of standards, a horizontal shaft j ournaled in said standards, a panellike curtain depending from and attached to the shaft, a ratchet rotatably mounted,

a pawl operatively connected to the shaft,

to actuate the ratchet in one direction of swinging movement of the curtain, a slidable rack, a, system ofgearing operatively connected between the ratchet and'the rack,

and an indicating strip attached to the rack to indicate distance in part of a golf course. 11. A golf practice devicecomprising a stand having a pair of standards, a horizon-' tal shaft journaled therein, a panel-like curtain secured to the shaft and depending downwardly therefrom, an arm having a pawl attached to the shaft, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted, positioned to be engaged by the said pawl, a gear connected to said ratchet, a pinion meshing with said gear, a rack slidably mounted among the standards, meshing with the said pinion, and indicating strips on the rack to indicate distances in a golf course.

12. In a golf practice device, an indicating strip formed of sheet material, having indicia thereon to indicate features of a golf course and means to attach said strip vertically to a device registering the impact of a golf ball.

13. In a golf practice device, a strip formed of sheet material having indicia thereon indicating the tee of a golf course and the distance of a fairway in lineal measurement and means to attach said strip vertically to a device registering the impact of a golf ball.

14. In a golf practice device, an elongated strip of sheet metal having indicia thereon of different features of a golf course embodying an indicator representing a tee or zero point, an indicator representing a green and intermediatelineal measurements of distance and means to attach said strip vertically to a device registering the impact of a golf ball.

15. In a golf practice device, an indicating strip of suitable material having indicia relative to a golf course including indicators of the tee, of the green,-of a hole in the green and of the intermediate lineal distance between the tee and the hole and means to attach said strip vertically to a device registering the impact of a golf ball.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WALTER M. CHASE. 

